Preaching Daily - August 5

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."John 16:33

Today's Preaching Insight...

Is Jesus the model for pastoral preaching today?

One of the main arguments for inductive preaching in much homiletical literature revolves around the use of story in the preaching of Jesus. Surely we should preach as Jesus did, shouldn't we? In his book The Passion-Driven Sermon, Jim Shaddix takes a contrary position, arguing: "As heretical as it may seem to some, Jesus is not necessarily the best model for contemporary pastoral preaching. This obviously is not because of any flaw in His homiletic or His theology. Certainly Jesus was the quintessential master communicator and the general model for all preachers of all time.

"However, we must recognize the fact that He did not practice as the preaching pastor of a local congregation in the same vein as we know the ministry today. His ministry would better serve as a model for itinerant preaching as He engaged different crowds in various settings. Additionally, the content of the majority of His preaching and teaching would more closely parallel evangelistic proclamation as opposed to the edification of believers."

Today's Extra...

(Lack Of) Self Discipline

2006 marked the 150th anniversary of the birth of Sigmund Freud. Many of Freud's ideas are no longer accepted, while others are still embraced. What no one disputes is that he is the father of analysis and psychotherapy. In what is a strange irony, Freud was able to help others, but never able to help himself. He died of cancer in 1939 because he was unable to break himself of an addiction to cigars, having smoked a box a day even after having had his jaw removed.

J. Michael Shannon is professor of preaching at Cincinnati Bible College in Cincinnati, OH.